As leaders of the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, Eli Diaz and Ryan Arrieta have found themselves at the nexus of Puerto Rico's recovery from Hurricane Maria, which slammed into the island Sept. 20, 2017. For months, they’ve been working diligently to devise ways to restore water and sewer services to the people of Puerto Rico despite the loss of electricity and communications.

From the drinking-water contamination in Flint, Mich., to the seemingly endless drought in California, good old H2O pools at the heart of many of today’s most pressing and headline-grabbing problems. Find out how the work and ideas of Tech researchers are helping us understand — and solve — these planet-wide challenges.

The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering debuts a new video concept March 3 highlighting the work of our graduate students. This occasional series challenges students from every discipline within civil and environmental engineering to explain their research and why it matters in 30 seconds (or close to that).

The American Water Works Association gathered in Atlanta last week for its first-ever conference on the nation’s water infrastructure, inviting Joe Brown from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering to deliver a keynote address.